At first glance, the interior minister’s proposal is reminiscent of methods practiced by “the,” former communist Ministry of State Security, whose secret police infiltrated the homes of suspected opponents of the regime to tap their phones.
With the end of the East German dictatorship (GDR) and in 1990 this practice stopped.
Now, in the face of Islamist and right-wing extremist terrorist threats, Feser wants to empower investigators to use the method once again. However, unlike the arbitrary actions of the Stasi in communist East Germany, the German parliament must first approve it.
The interior minister proposes to allow the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) to enter the homes of terror suspects to install spy software on their smartphones and computers.
Fear of Islamist terror
After this, a Faser spokesperson justified the plan in a government press conference, specifically for cases of Islamic terrorism. “In this context, we believe it is absolutely self-evident that security officials should have appropriate powers to deal with it,” he said, though without giving any details of the draft law, which he said the government is still discussing.
It is unlikely that the neoliberals, the smallest partner in the three-way coalition, would agree to government-authorized covert home break-ins, as protecting citizens’ rights is at the heart of the party’s trademark. The FDP believes that international terrorism and other serious crimes can be tackled without tougher law enforcement.
Incognito online searches are allowed
At the moment, German security authorities are allowed to tap suspects’ electronic devices without breaking into their homes, under certain circumstances – using remote forensics software to obtain data on the suspects’ devices without them noticing.
German police have been allowed to use this method since 2017 to monitor the homes of suspects as part of “online searches”. However, each such action must first be approved by the court – or, in particularly urgent cases, by the public prosecutor’s office.
Section 100 of the Criminal Code describes in detail which offenses can be prosecuted with the help of “online searches”. The list is long, and includes endangering the democratic rule of law; formation of criminal organizations; murder; sexual crimes; drug smuggling; money laundering; human trafficking; and abuse of asylum.
A landmark ruling by Germany’s Constitutional Court
According to official government figures, the number of online searches is in the low double-digit range for years – and most involve drug offences. But online searches have always been controversial. A 2008 ruling, considered groundbreaking, held that online searches are allowed only if human life or the state itself is at risk.
Covert searches are therefore considered to be an absolute exception when fighting crime in Germany. On the other hand, open house raids are a normal part of daily police operations. They, too, can only be conducted at the behest of a court or public prosecutor’s office. As a rule, the search is conducted in the presence of the suspect.
Some raids make news headlines. A recent example of this was when to secure evidence at the home of the head of Germany.
The magazine was banned in July 2024 by Interior Minister Nancy Fazer. But then the Federal Administrative Court allowed Elsaesser to continue publishing because the court had doubts about the proportionality of the ban, whether it affected the freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. .
Although a partial victory for magazine publisher Elsser, his home could still be “secretly” searched – in theory – as early as 2021. compact Classified as a “confirmed right-wing extremist” publication by Germany. That designation authorizes so-called “undercover investigations,” which can include “entering a person’s home” — but only from a distance.
The Justice Minister is concerned with the rule of law
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) rejected Feser’s new proposal on X: “No authorization will be given to secretly spy on people’s homes. We do not do that in a constitutional state. It would be a complete breach of prohibition,” he wrote.
Bushman pointed out that the state did not even resort to such measures in the 1970s when the left-wing extremist Red Army Faction (RAF) kidnapped and killed people. He urges proportionality, warning that, “If a law allows the state to surreptitiously enter a home and search it, many people will lose faith in the rule of law.”
This article was originally written in German.
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